Day trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht
Visit Utrecht for a historic and beautiful day trip from Amsterdam
You can get from Amsterdam Centraal to Utrecht Central in 25 minutes by train. This makes Utrecht one of the easiest and quickest major towns outside Amsterdam to visit for a day trip. Utrecht is often coupled with day trips to Rotterdam or The Hague, all of which are easily reachable from Amsterdam.
Utrecht is also the main rail hub of the Netherlands, connecting via direct rail services, with most of the major cities in the country. If your staying in Holland for more than a few days and basing yourself in Amsterdam, then its proximity to Utrecht is very useful for exploring further afield in the Netherlands.
Utrecht is a historic and lively city with beautiful canals, centuries of religious significance, cafes, shopping and iconic buildings, particulalry the famous Domtoren (Dom Tower) that can be seen from anywhere in the city.
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Things to do in Utrecht
Utrecht is a lively and beautiful city that seems to be hidden by Amsterdams shadow. Most visitors to Amsterdam may not even look at Utrecht as a destination to consider visiting and they are missing out. The fact it seems to be less well-known to International visitors means it is not flooded with tourists which can be an attraction in itself.
Couple that with the really beautiful canals, the historic centre, amazing shopping, cafes and restaurants you feel like you are visiting one of those hidden gems you so often hear about.
Utrecht Canals and city centre
If you are visiting on a day trip then your in luck as the city centre is enclosed by a canal ring just under 6 km long. So, you can easily wander the streets of the historic centre, which was initially designed as a medieval fortress. From here you can discover all the charms the city has to offer in a day. The canals of Utrecht are extremely beautiful and unique in that they have wharfs and wharf cellars creating a harbour system and two levels. Something the bars. restaurants and cafes have capitalised on in the modern world.
Dom Tower
This is an iconic church tower than can be seen throughout Utrecht. Very useful if you have gotten lost, as you can just head for the tower and find yourself back in the centre once more. The tower is centuries old and the highest church tower in the Netherlands. It is 112m high and has 465 steps and you can visit on a guided tour only. The guide will stop at various points on the way up, so you are not exhausted by the time you reach the top and you’ll learn the fascinating history of the tower and Utrecht as you progress. This is one of the must-see experiences for a visitor to Utrecht and the views at the top are spectacular.
St Martins Cathedral
DOMUnder
Hoog Catherine
If you love shopping and by shopping we mean mall shopping in outlets of 150 stores plus then Utrecht is going make you feel good. The Hoog Catherine is one of the biggest malls in the Netherlands and is connected to Utrecht Central station, so you can arrive and be shopping in minutes.
As with any huge shopping centre, if you only shop here you’ll miss out on the creative local products that you can find within Utrecht itself, but for visitors who love mall style shopping then you cant go far wrong at Hoog Catherine.
De Haar Castle
Not actually in Utrecht, but as fairytale castles are not that easy to come by it deserves some attention. This is actually the biggest castle in the Netherlands and sits around 16km outside Utrecht. It has huge beautiful grounds to explore with a mixture of formal gardens and fountains. You can see tapestries, paintings, carvings, antiquities and a Japanese coach designed for women. There are often events and festivals throughout the year as well as a shop.
Museum Speelklock
Musical Clock Museum is an unusual and popular attraction in Utrecht. This is a museum for the ears with hands-on displays that will bring music from the past back to life. The museum focusses on music that does not need human involvement, other than to turning them on or winding them up. So think music boxes, musical clocks, pianolas and barrel organs. There are guided tours and the museum is interactive with many of the instruments still able to be played.
Centraal Museum
An excellent museum focussing on Utrecht’s provincial archaeological collections as well as works by local painters from the 15th century onwards. The most famous of which the Romanists led by Jan van Scorel. There are also costumes from the 18th century onwards, a dollhouse and the Utrecht Ship, discovered in 1930 and estimated to be 1000 years old.
Rietveld Schroder House
This is a world heritage site due to its importance as a piece of architecture ahead of its time. Designed as a home, it now functions as a museum that anyone interested in design will love. Features of the home include retracting walls, a forerunner of the open-plan house design so common now, yet this house was built in the early 1920’s. Designed by Rietveld, a leading member of the De Stijl design movement.
Discover Rietveld Schrodherhuis
Nijntje Museum (Miffy Museum)
This is a perfect place to take young children to give them hours of fun with the lovable iconic Miffy and her friends. A very popular museum with families.
You can reach Utrecht by train in under 25 minutes from Amsterdam. Utrecht is a historic medieval city, with its own charming and happy ambience.
How to get to Utrecht from Amsterdam
Utrecht is very easy to get to by train from Amsterdam. You leave and arrive at the Central stations of each city so exploring for a day is made very easy. You can use a bus to Utrecht if you are on a budget, but the train is the quicker route if you are travelling independently. You can of course visit with a tour group by coach, either as a one location day trip or as part of a multiple destination day trip.
NS Intercity Direct train
As Utrecht is a major rail hub of the Netherlands there are regular trains between Amsterdam Centraal and Utrecht Central. The intercity trains run roughly every 10 minutes and the journey takes around 25 minutes. There is a stop at Amsterdam Amstel on the way. Prices start from €8 for a one-way ticket in 2nd class. You could use the ICE International service for the same journey, this train does not stop but is only a minute or so quicker with an added cost of €2.60. It also only runs every two hours so we recommend using the Intercity regular trains.
You can check and buy tickets with Rail Europe.
The best day trips from Amsterdam to Utrecht
Booking an organised day trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht is a great option to make the most of your time. There are a wide variety of trips running all year round featuring Utrecht in their itiniary.
On a day trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht you could also visit the Keukenhof gardens and castle (best in spring), visit the Windmills at Kinderdijk, combine a trip with a visit to The Hague or Rotterdam and more.
Below are some of our favourite day trips from Amsterdam provided by Get Your Guide:
Day trips to Utrecht from Amsterdam
